PBS's Bill Moyers & the Democrats

A new poll that's bad news for the Democrats, and why Bill Moyers is partially responsible for the mess. That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo.

A USA Today poll says that 57 percent of Americans do not believe the Democrats are tough enough on terrorism, and that 54 percent of people who call themselves Democrats say the party is too far left.

Before we get to the reason why, I must tell you that America needs a strong Democratic Party, especially in the environmental arena and in a watchdog capacity. The Bush administration has demonstrated that it enjoys operating in secret, doing things without telling we the people. That is not good.

But there is no question that the Democratic Party is without leadership and drifting to the far left because of people like Bill Moyers, people who have a platform and who use it to say dopey things.

Now, I have known Mr. Moyers for a long time. I've always had problems with him. He was working for President Johnson when that administration sacrificed thousands of American soldiers in Vietnam, fighting a political war, not caring that our fighting men were not fully protected. For that, I will never forgive Lyndon Johnson, and Moyers has never explained his role.

Subsequently, Moyers set himself up as a pundit and did do worthy documentaries on working Americans. But his political views put him on par with the likes of Harry Belafonte.

A few days after 9/11, for example, Moyers actually attacked me in a speech he gave in Albany, New York. He called me a warmonger because I was calling for an attack on the Taliban government in Afghanistan. As we always do, we immediately called Moyers to invite him on The Factor. His secretary said he was traveling. We said, Any time. I guess he's still traveling.

But not in the circles the American people can accept. Using his partially government-funded program on PBS, Moyers said this last week. "The entire federal government is united behind a right-wing agenda for which George W. Bush believes he now has a mandate. That mandate includes the power of the state to force pregnant women to give up control over their own lives. It includes using the taxing power to transfer wealth from working people to the rich."

Now, this is propaganda worthy of Barbra Streisand, and it hurts the Democratic Party, because it's loony and the folks know it. Rather than debate the issue of abortion, which includes partial birth, parental notification, minors crossing state lines, Moyers tries to scare women into thinking the government wants to control their bodies.

Rather than being honest and staying that Mr. Bush wants lower taxes for all Americans because he believes the government is far too intrusive financially, Moyers actually asks people to believe that the feds will come to your house, take your money, and give it to people like me, the rich.

Ridiculous doesn't even come close.

Because Moyers is the face of liberalism and, therefore, identified with the Democrats, clear-thinking people just walk away. Which is why the USA Today poll makes sense. The far left has way too much power in the Democratic Party, and that is the truth.

That's also The Memo.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day

Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day"...

Sixty-one-year-old James Welles has written two books called The Story of Stupidity and Understanding Stupidity. Well, Welles knows what he writes. Police in Lantana, Florida, have arrested him for propositioning a 15-year-old girl on the Internet. The girl was really an undercover cop.

Welles was charged with variety of offenses, including being ridiculous and, of course, being stupid.